


Power Levels or: Card Games on Mattresses

by smutdouble



Series: Movie Night [3]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh the Abridged Series, Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Deathshipping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-31
Updated: 2018-12-16
Packaged: 2019-04-16 03:25:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14155602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smutdouble/pseuds/smutdouble
Summary: Melvin whips out his deck and challenges Ryou to an adult's card game. Sequel to Movie Night.





	1. The Rules

**Author's Note:**

> This is turning out to be really long, so I'm going to have to figure out how to divide it into pieces as I go. Basically I was watching Little Kuriboh Watches Yu-Gi-Oh GX. In part one of the abandoned dorm episode Jaden and friends are playing a game with their cards, where they draw a monster and tell a story as scary the amount of stars on the card. Little Kuriboh made a joke about having to kill everyone in the room if someone draws Slifer. I thought, "Kill everyone in the room? That's Melvin's favorite game!" And because I'm a deathshipper, my next thought was Melvin playing with Ryou, and things just got kinkier from there... So here we go again...

Ryou carefully folded his second batch of rice dough around the ball of red bean paste. He'd improved the consistency, at least. He hummed to himself as he rolled it in corn starch.

Tan hands appeared on the counter to either side of him as a warm body pressed close. Ryou held up the sweet, green ball as he looked over his shoulder. "Taste it?" He asked.

Melvin blinked once, and then opened his mouth. Ryou set the ball on his tongue. Melvin's lips closed around the pale digit as it withdrew.

"Is it good?" Ryou asked.

Melvin chewed slowly, and then swallowed. "What's it for?" He asked as he picked up a second one.

"Yugi's planning a game night and I wanted to bring sweets. It's a new recipe, so I've been practicing."

Melvin bit the doughy candy in half. "How should I know if it's any good?"

"You're eating another one," Ryou pointed out.

"You are so _cute_ when you talk nonsense." His teeth tugged sharply at Ryou's ear. Then he grabbed the bowl of mochi and sat down with it at the kitchen table.

As Ryou watched, Melvin picked up a thick stack of Duel Monsters cards and started sorting them into face up rows. The British boy kept stealing curious glances over his shoulder as he balled up the remaining rice dough and wrapped it tightly with cling-wrap.

Melvin huffed. "Three duelists in the house and not one of us has level seven or nine monsters."

Ryou's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Did you steal the Spirit's deck?"

"No."

Ryou shook his head. "Did you _borrow_ the Spirit's deck?"

"Some of it." Melvin was still scowling at the cards on the table in front of him.

"Why?" Ryou asked.

"I  _wanted_ to play." Melvin huffed and slapped the pile of cards down on the table.

Ryou fidgeted. It wasn't always easy to trace the source of Melvin's irritation, but Ryou wanted to get to it before he got too worked up. He'd learned that Melvin was surprisingly manageable when he was calm, empty, and apathetic. Keeping him that way was a different trick. "I have a deck... It's not a very good one, but..."

Melvin finally looked at him. "Do you have a seven and a nine?"

" _Nine_ ? I might have a seven, but nine is..."

Melvin drummed his fingers on the table as he looked over the cards again. "Go get it."

Whatever Melvin wanted to do, Ryou doubted he wanted to play a proper game of Duel Monsters. Why was he so focused on the levels? By the time he returned with his deck, the bowl of mochi was empty. At least that answered his previous question...

Melvin snatched the deck from Ryou's hands as soon as he sat down. He sifted through it until he pulled out the monster he was looking for. "Wonderful!" He slipped it into a blank spot in the last row. "We get to play after all."

Ryou looked closer. He had nineteen monster cards arranged on the table by power level. Five one star monsters, four two star monsters, on down to one each from five stars to eight stars. And of course, Ra. "What is it we're meant to play exactly?"

Melvin leered as he swept the cards into small stack. "We've been exploring each other for a long time, snowflake."

The cards danced hypnotically in his hands as he spoke.

"I think I have a bead on what hurts you and how much. Do you agree?"

So it would be one of those sorts of games. Ryou's heart fluttered as he watched Melvin shuffle. "I- I suppose you do." Ryou couldn't help blushing a touch.

"Each card represents a degree of pain. The lower the number, the less painful the result." He grinned. "If you pick a one, I'll even do something nice to you."

"What happens if I pick Ra?" Ryou asked, finally looking at Melvin's face. His wild scary beautiful face.

Melvin's eyelids drooped. "You'll simply have to find out when you pick him, won't you?" He fanned out the cards and held them out to Ryou face-down.

Ryou's eyes darted back and forth between the cards and Melvin's face. Melvin wore a tiny smirk, but it looked stony and plastered on. Ryou bit his lip. He'd never been an adrenaline junkie before. What was Melvin doing to him? Ryou traced his index finger across the backs of the cards, feeling the ridges where they overlapped. Most of them weren't going to be terrible. He even had a slightly better than one in four chance of getting something good... He pinched a card and drew it slowly. He watched Melvin's face as he turned it over, and then looked down.

Two.

A shadow fell across him and fingers clenched in his hair. Melvin yanked Ryou to his feet, and then kept pulling until he was standing on his toes.

"Walk with me," Melvin growled against his ear.

 


	2. Botched Twos

Ryou stumbled as Melvin tugged him up the stairs, always keep the tension on his scalp just a little tighter than necessary. Melvin shoved Ryou onto Marik's bed and pounced on him. Sitting on Ryou's pelvis, he stripped off his shirt, and then cocked his head expectantly. Ryou squirmed out of his own shirt less gracefully. Melvin purred and grabbed the stack of cards from the night stand.

"Another," he grinned.

Ryou picked another random card. One star. He smiled as he turned it toward Melvin.

Melvin chuckled. "Grin while you can, biscuit. It's still one less card between you and Ra." He lifted his hips and fumbled open Ryou's fly as his tongue traced Ryou's jaw from his chin to the back of his ear. The same tongue drew a line down the center of Ryou's torso as Melvin pulled Ryou's pants to his ankles. Ryou giggled as the tongue dragged across his belly button.

Melvin tossed Ryou's pants aside with a growl. Then the madly grinning face filled Ryou's vision again. Two fingers pressed into Ryou's mouth and Ryou sucked them without being told.

Melvin purred and nuzzled Ryou's neck. "Gods, I want to cram my cock down your throat."

His fingers left Ryou's mouth with a wet _pop._

"Open for me," Melvin breathed.

Ryou moaned. Whether it was commands or threatening nothings between bites, it felt amazing when Melvin whispered against his neck. He spread his legs wide and grabbed his knees. Melvin's fingers stroked into him with as much gentleness as Melvin was capable of. The fingers crooked forward, stroking and pressing and rubbing in circles. Ryou moaned louder, panting as he arched his neck. Melvin propped himself up on one arm to watch Ryou's face as he fingered him. Ryou bit his lip as the tan fingers slid in and out of him, and then gasped when they massaged his prostate some more. Melvin observed all of Ryou's reactions with intense curiosity. Unblinking eyes burned into Ryou's, as though Ryou's feelings were fish under a frozen pond and if Melvin looked hard enough he might see them circling beyond the glassy barrier.

Melvin tilted his head as his face drifted closer. Almost like a lover going in for a kiss. But this was Melvin, and Ryou was more convinced Melvin was thinking about opening up his head.

"Draw another card," Melvin hissed.

Without breaking eye contact, Ryou fumbled on the surface of the nightstand until he found the deck. He drew whatever was on top of the stack. "It's a two," Ryou gasped out. Melvin hadn't stopped fingering him.

Melvin snatched the card with his free hand and stared at it. Then he rolled his eyes as he tossed it away. "Fine, fine..." He sat up and looked around. Then he stood up and started digging through Marik's closet. He turned around holding two long scarves that he tied together. "Up," he commanded as he yanked Ryou's hair again.

He hung the scarf on Ryou's neck, centering the knot. Then he brought it under Ryou's arm pits and started weaving Ryou's arms together behind his back. He pulled them tight, until the silk dug into Ryou's skin, trapping his arms firmly behind him. Once he secured the ends at Ryou's wrists, the Brit could barely bend his elbows.

Melvin took the cards and fanned them out flat. "Another," he barked.

Nervous about Melvin's impatience, Ryou caught the corner of a card between his lips and separated it from the others. Melvin grabbed it and flipped it to face him.

His eyebrows went up. "Ah. That's interesting." His fingers flipped the card toward Ryou. "Four." He stroked Ryou's hair as he thought, staring into the distance above Ryou's head. "What sort of middle of the road torment could I inflict on my cute little snowflake..." Melvin's hands stopped on either side of Ryou's head and squeezed. "Oh! I know." He used his grip on Ryou's head to turn him around and sit him on the bed. "Wait right here, biscuit. I've got a _great_ idea."

Ryou watched Melvin leave. He tried to think of what Melvin considered a 'middle of the rode torment.' Maybe the ginger? Maybe one of the gentler wand nodes. Gagging on Melvin's dick wasn't so bad, but he wouldn't have to leave the room for that.

When Melvin returned carrying the cooler he used to bring home hearts, Ryou's eyes widened. "Um..."

Melvin plopped the cooler on the bed. It rattled. Melvin pushed Ryou onto his back and turned him so his head hung over the side of the mattress. Then he grabbed Ryou's knees and pulled them up to his shoulders.

Ryou held the position as best he could as Melvin lifted the lid. An ice cube shone between his thumb and forefinger. Ryou squeaked as Melvin traced a cold, wet line down the crack of his bum. Ice. He wouldn't have thought of ice as a four unless... He squealed a little louder as the cube penetrated him. The sharp shock of cold faded to a dull chill as the ring of muscle closed over it.

"Hm..." Melvin watched Ryou's face as he inserted two more.

Ryou squirmed, biting his lip. That was colder. A deep, throbbing cold. When Melvin inserted the fourth, his finger kept going. It stirred the cubes inside of him, catching one and pressing it against Ryou's prostate. Ryou shuddered out a whimper, wriggling as much as he could without falling off the bed.

Without removing his finger, or saying a word to Ryou, Melvin grabbed another card from the night stand. He frowned at it. Then shrugged. Before Ryou could ask what it was, Melvin was circling his asshole with another ice cube. After it disappeared inside, Melvin leaned forward and repeated the motion with his tongue. The sudden warmth made Ryou moan.

Melvin kept licking until Ryou felt warm again. Then he took an ice cube between his front teeth. He held the pale, fleshy hills apart as he rubbed the ice between them. Then he cheeked the cube so he could lick some more. Cool water and saliva trickled down Ryou's balls, which in itself was an interesting if not subtle sensation. Melvin kept rimming Ryou until the ice melted completely, and then started with a second cube.

When he finally stopped to get the deck, Ryou let out a little huff of disappointment. The absence of Melvin's heat only reminded him of the watery chill that still sat in his bowels.

Melvin barely glanced at the card before he chucked it aside with the other one. "Sit up."

Ryou obeyed, clenching and blushing when he felt the liquid from the melted ice cubes shift inside of him. Melvin grabbed his waist, flipped him, and let him fall face down on the mattress with his ass in the air. Ryou felt the tongue slick up his crack again. Then up either side of his crack. Inch by inch, Melvin painted his bum with saliva. It wasn't bad, but it didn't necessarily feel great either. Just... weird. What card had he drawn?

Melvin straightened up. There was a pause. Then Ryou inhaled sharply as a hot sting lit up one cheek. It was a light slap. Ryou knew from his experience several weeks ago that Melvin could hit really hard when he had a mind to. This was definitely a restrained spanking. Growling, Melvin licked the warm, pink hand print as he gave Ryou's other cheek a loud swat. Ryou's chest lurched. Melvin alternated between licking and slapping, varying the time between impacts to either build tension or catch Ryou off guard. Every yelp from Ryou pulled a giggle or a purr or a sigh from Melvin. He squeezed and spread Ryou's cheeks to give him one more lick. Long. Slow. Ryou moaned. Then he cried out as Melvin rained down rapid, alternating slaps on his rear. The blows didn't stop until he had Ryou wincing and trying to pull away.

Melvin laughed as he put a knee on the bed and leaned over Ryou's back to peer at his face. Ryou sniffed, waiting for the fire under his skin to cool.

"Are you actually crying? I didn't even hit hard enough to bruise you."

"What was that even meant to be? A four?"

"Two, actually."

"Bloody hell, Melvin..." Ryou groaned.

Melvin laughed. "Well, I'll try to remember how sensitive you are the next time a two comes up. Speaking of which... Drum roll..." His palms drummed on Ryou's hindquarters again. He laughed as Ryou squealed. "Seriously, though. Give me a number one through," he paused, "thirteen, and pick top or bottom."

Thirteen left. He tried to think of how many bad ones were left. Something like four? So one in every three was bad? Ryou twisted his wrists nervously in their restraints. "Um... seven... top," Ryou said.

Melvin counted seven cards down from the top and drew. "Ooh. The easiest of the worst. A five." He chuckled. "And I know exactly what I want to do." He flipped Ryou onto his back and mounted him again. He dragged the cooler around to one side of Ryou's head and pulled a roll of duct tape out of Marik's night stand.

Ryou found himself wondering if the duct tape had ever been on his face before. Though the Spirit had said more than once that he wanted to tape Marik's mouth shut sometimes.

Melvin held up an ice cube. "Open wide, biscuit."

Ryou eyed the tape nervously as he let Melvin fill his mouth with ice. At least it would melt. Though once he had five or six cubes packed in there, his mouth was too cold to melt them quickly. He groaned as Melvin taped his mouth from ear to ear.

Melvin laughed, squeezing Ryou's cheeks and giving his head a little shake. "If only you could see how cute you look. Like a puffy-cheeked snow bunny."

Ryou made another sound of protest as the ice ground against his already aching teeth. Looking somewhat excited now that things were going more his way, Melvin picked another card.

"Uhoh..." Melvin flipped the card toward Ryou. "Your last two, biscuit. Looks like your luck is running thin." He chuckled. "Good thing, too. So is my patience."

Ryou squirmed. What would Melvin do to him when they finally got to Ra? Suffocation? No... No, probably the violet wand paired with the knife. He shuddered at the thought.

"Was that a cold shiver or a nervous shiver? I'm not sure which one makes me want to fuck you harder." Melvin rubbed Ryou sides. "But we're thinking of a two right now, aren't we? Hm..."

Fingers spidered up Ryou's sides and finger nails traced ever so lightly back down. Ryou giggled around his mouthful of ice. They raked across his stomach, and then Melvin wiggled a finger in Ryou's bellybutton. This time Ryou squirmed as he giggled. Melvin attacked his sides and armpits with tickles. Ryou bucked, trying to twist away as he whined indignant protests around his mouthful of ice.

He laughed puffs of air through his nose as his mouth filled with water and saliva. Ryou tried to find a space to swallow it, but another bout of involuntary laughter caused him to inhale. For a moment he was only choking on water. When the liquid in his mouth found nowhere else to go, he suddenly found himself choking on ice cubes. Ryou tried to squeal urgently, but the attempt only made him cough harder. He gagged, throwing Melvin frantic looks as he tried to sit up. His feet scrambled against the mattress.

Melvin tilted his head and blinked once. "What's the matter, girl?" He smirked as his eyelids drooped. "My biscuit is choking? Oh, dear..."

Ryou rubbed his cheek against the pillow, trying to dislodged the tape himself.

"Aw! Look at you being creative! It's adorable!" Melvin cupped Ryou's face in both hands. "I wonder if the ice would melt before or after you pass out..." With a distinct lack of urgency, Melvin grabbed the tape and pealed it away from Ryou's lips.

Ice and saliva poured onto the mattress. A few more coughs shook Ryou's shoulders. Then he flopped onto his back and looked up at Melvin through watery eyes. "Am I," Ryou cleared his throat, "supposed to believe that was an accident?"

"A happy little accident," Melvin chuckled. "I may be godly, but I'm not infallible. You should remember how to breathe."

"I should get a free one for both of the botched twos," Ryou grumbled as he pouted at the deck on the night stand, not actually expecting anything of the sort.

Unsurprisingly, Melvin laughed. His fingers threaded through Ryou's hair as he pressed their foreheads together. "I want to hug you until you suffocate," he whispered. "I really do." Another card. Another laugh. "Looks like someone's getting all of his wishes granted tonight."

 


	3. Deep Trouble

Melvin wrapped his arms around Ryou. Ryou flinched and braced for Melvin to start crushing him. He'd never quite gotten used to anything that involved breath play, so of course it was Melvin's favorite go-to when he wanted to be really mean without much effort. Melvin dragged Ryou into his lap and Ryou couldn't help catching a bit of a thrill from his contact with Melvin's bare chest. He watched the mad face with wide eyes and a racing heart. Their bodies pressed closer still as Melvin leaned for the night stand. One of Marik's toys. So not Ra, or any of the four remaining scary ones, probably. A good one? Oh, please let it be a good one...

Melvin balanced Ryou in one arm and threw Ryou's calf up across the back of his neck. Ryou kept his eyes on the small, curved, purple vibrator in Melvin's hand. Until Melvin put it in Ryou's mouth. Ryou worked up some saliva. The soft plastic buzzed on his tongue. It was a good thing. How long would Melvin let it last? Maybe a little longer if Ryou begged him not to stop? He did like it when Ryou begged...

Melvin barely pressed the tip of the toy between Ryou's cheeks, and then pulled it away. "Would it be funny if this was a three and I was getting you all excited just to watch you get all frustrated when I stop?"

Ryou squirmed. "You'd never make a three that easy."

Melvin shrugged, and then stabbed the toy into him without warning. Ryou's yelp bled into a moan as he arched. "I do enjoy hearing you make that noise," Melvin commented.

Bound hands clenched Melvin's thigh as Ryou let out a breathy cry. Melvin gripped the base of the toy with his fist, fucking Ryou more like he was stabbing him repeatedly. Ryou's face flushed when he realized Melvin's hand was wet. He clenched around the toy. "Wait... wait, wait, wait!"

"No."

"But- the... the water..." Ryou squirmed.

Melvin leaned to whisper against Ryou's neck. "If that's making you blush, I can't wait to see what you do when we finally get to six."

Ryou's pulse raced faster under Melvin's lips, and faster still when Melvin licked him. "Ah! Oh... dear..." He struggled in Melvin's lap. His erection strained at the air, desperate for attention Ryou knew it wouldn't get. Not yet. "Melvin..." he craned his neck when he felt a soft touch of teeth, burying his face against the leg Melvin had pushed up by his ear. "Please..."

Melvin growled, "Mm... My snowflake wants to cum." His pitch lifted to a lilting singsong, "But he won't get to." Back to a growl, "I'm not nearly done with him yet..." He giggled his creepy giggle.

Between his bound arms and his pinned leg, Ryou couldn't move much. He still strained to make the vibrator rub where he wanted. "No..." Ryou groaned. "Don't stop. I won't cum. I promise... I'll wait..."

"Can you draw a good one for me?"

"I don't know," Ryou moaned. "I can try..."

Without letting go of the vibrator, Melvin ducked out from under Ryou's leg. Ryou yelped as he almost rolled off Melvin's lap, but Melvin caught him around the waist as he stood up. He pressed on Ryou's back, bending him over, and then the hand holding the vibrator shoved him toward the nightstand. Ryou stumbled, jostling the edge of the table and knocking the deck over.

Ryou felt Melvin watching him as he tried to catch a card between his lips. He managed to brush under the edges of a few, but they slipped away when he tried to lift his head. He finally used the tip of his nose to nudge one to the edge of the table. When Melvin didn't move, Ryou found himself backing harder onto the toy. He let out a little gasp and almost knocked the card onto the floor. Finally managing to pinch his lips on the corner of the card, he straightened up as much as he could with Melvin's hand between his legs and looked over his shoulder. Melvin took the card and looked at it.

He growled as his head lolled back. "You are killin me, crumpet. _Killin_ me." He tossed the level three monster on the floor.

Ryou squeaked disappointment when Melvin took the toy away. He bit his lip as he watched Melvin paw listlessly through Marik's little trove. At the start of all this a three wouldn't have worried him much, but after the choking fiasco he really had no idea what to expect.

"Gods," Melvin muttered. "Florence talks such a big game, you'd think he wouldn't be so pathetically vani- Ah... I think I can work with this."

Ryou eyed the double-ended dildo nervously. It wasn't any thicker than Melvin's dick, but it would definitely set a record for the longest thing Melvin ever shoved up his bum. As he let Melvin position him on the mattress, he found himself thinking about how many cards were left. Eight or nine. And the four worst were still in there.

Melvin laid the length of silicon out flat on Ryou's belly. It stretched from his pelvis to just under his rib cage. Ryou's stomach rose and fell as he took a deep, sharp breath. Watching the wide, brown eyes intensely, Melvin squeezed a line of gel lubricant from the tip of the toy to about halfway down the shaft. He paused, eyes darting back and forth between Ryou's stomach and face. Then he continued the line all the way down to the end.

Ryou gulped. "I-is that really necessary?"

"I intend to use every inch of it," Melvin smirked. Then he cocked his head. "What's with the nervous face? It's only a three."

"We've never done anything like this before. You don't know that it's a three," Ryou protested.

"If it's worse than a three, feel free to scream you pretty little lungs out." Melvin watched Ryou intensely he slowly sank the toy into him.

Ryou bit his lip. All of the other attention his ass had been getting meant he was mostly ready for it, but the toy kept going, until he felt a full, internal tension. He flinched and whimpered.

Melvin put a hand on Ryou's belly, working the toy in and out a little. "Try to push it out," he said.

"Why?" Ryou asked. He could feel the toy prodding against his abdominal wall and he was less than thrilled with the sensation.

"Because this is definitely going to hurt more than a three if you don't."

Blushing, Ryou pushed. So did Melvin. The toy slid farther. Ryou yelped at the deep twinge it caused.

"Does it hurt?" Melvin asked curiously.

"Yes!"

"Is it more than a three?"

"I don't know... maybe?" Ryou winced as Melvin started fucking him slowly again.

"What kind of pain is it?" Melvin asked. "Tearing? Aching? Stinging?"

"Like... Agh! Stretching? Like when you over-stretch a muscle."

"Hm..." Melvin pressed on the end of the toy with his palm until his hand was flush with Ryou's hindquarters. Ryou panted, arching his hips off the bed. "Look at your stomach."

Ryou opened his eyes and looked down. He saw a small bulge in his skin, not too far below his ribs. "Oh my god," he breathed. Melvin pumped his fist a few times fast. The bump moved. "Stop!" Ryou whined as he tried to push away with his feet.

"Is it worse than a three?" Melvin asked.

"You're going to damage something! Stop!"

"So it's more fear than pain..." Melvin's tone remained calm and curious.

"Yes! You're freaking me out!"

Melvin laughed. "I do enjoy keeping you on your toes."

There was a deep, sliding sensation as the pressure relented. The relief actually felt amazing and Ryou's next whimper was one of startled contentment. His body shuddered as it expelled the toy entirely. He took a moment to enjoy the loose, hollow feeling, catching his breath as he watched Melvin reach for the scattered cards. Two good things, three medium things... Ryou's heart thudded as Melvin's hand hovered over the night stand.

"Hm..." Melvin drew a circle in the air with his fingers. "Which one, which one..." His finger descended on the back of a card, pinning in and dragging it across the wooden surface. He turned it over. "Mm, perfect," he moaned. His head lolled to one side as he leered hungrily at Ryou. "What do you think, crumpet? Should I restrain you for a six?"

Oh, bollocks.

 


	4. Nasty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It started as a bit of a slow-burn, but it gets rougher from here.

Melvin grabbed Ryou's hips and turned him parallel to the bed. Then he grabbed Ryou's neck and dragged him up on the pillows. When he cuffed Ryou's first ankle to the headboard, Ryou stammered, "H-hang on. I don't think my- my legs bend like..." He cried out as Melvin shoved his other knee up to his ear and fastened his ankle in place.

"Your legs are going to be the farthest things from your mind," Melvin grinned. He shoved three fingers into Ryou's mouth. Then he shoved those same three fingers up Ryou's bum. That was nothing new, but he tried to add his pinky almost immediately after.

Ryou's body resisted the first set of knuckles, even when Melvin leaned into it as hard as he could. He pulled his fingers most of the way out and slammed them forward again, trying to see if momentum would help. Ryou yelped, but he couldn't struggle. Couldn't buck. His restricted position left him little if any room for movement. 

Melvin pulled his hand out just enough to douse his knuckles with lube. Then he worked his fingers in and out some more, twisting his wrist as he tried to force Ryou open. Violet eyes watched, wide with wild excitement as Ryou panted and whimpered. Finally one last hard shove sank him up to his wrist.

Ryou sobbed out loud once, and then lapsed into quiet shudders. He could feel Melvin's fist inside of him. A large, solid thing that his body wanted to push out. He blushed, clenching and unclenching around Melvin's wrist.

"Mm, now that's interesting." Melvin flexed his fingers. "I can almost feel..."

His fist slid deeper. Ryou whimpered a steady stream of protests as he stretched around Melvin's forearm. Then he gasped when he felt the same, deep, stretching twinge from before.

"There it is! Ooh, that is tight."

"Please be careful," Ryou whimpered, thinking of Melvin's nails. "Please, please, please..."

"Push," Melvin commanded.

"No..." Ryou whimpered, shaking his head. "No more, please. It's enough. It's enough..."

Melvin chuckled. "Like you're in  _ any _ position to decide anything is enough."

"It hurts. It hurts and I'm scared and I don't know what else you want..."

"You're not crying. You're not  _ struggling _ ."

"You tied me up! I can't bloody  _ move _ !"

"Poor biscuit," Melvin cooed. "And this isn't even the meanest I intend to be." He looked at the cards, counting them with his eyes. "Tell you what. Since anything else would take this past a six, I'll make you a deal." He licked his lips. "We have eight cards left. Two nice ones, three medium ones, and three  _ nasty _ ones. If we get a nice or a medium one, I'll ease up on your poor little body. If we get a nasty one, I'll keep going."

"You  _ can't _ ," Ryou protested. "You literally, physically-"

"Sh," Melvin pressed a finger to Ryou's lips. "Let's just see..." Without breaking eye contact, he reached for the nightstand, "what I can..." he picked up a card, "and can't do."

Melvin stared at the card. Ryou watched Melvin's face, frantically trying to read his reaction. Trying to make out the reflection of it in his dull eyes. Anything. Because Melvin  _ could _ fuck him up if he wanted to. Fuck him up badly. And he probably wouldn't, because he seemed to enjoy Ryou's company on some level, but what if he  _ did _ ?

Melvin flicked the card away and leaned closer to Ryou's face, "Are you sure," he whispered, "that this," he moved his hand inside Ryou, fucking him slowly, "doesn't feel at least a little bit interesting?"

"I-interesting?" Ryou shook his head. "No... No, I'm..."

"What if I do this?" Melvin's head dipped lower, and then he tongued Ryou's cock into his mouth.

Ryou went rigid. His fingers clutched and clawed at the bedsheet. Then Melvin pulled his arm out enough to press and rub the heel of a hand against Ryou prostate. Ryou let out a sobbing moan. "No... Nononono, it hurts, it still hurts..."

Melvin chuckled around Ryou's cock, but otherwise didn't change what he was doing. Ryou panted, trying to focus on the warm lips tugging at his member, but Melvin's fist was just too much. "Please. Please it's not fair," Ryou whined. Not fair that one of the last two good things he had left was going to be bad. Of course he should've known better. "Please," he moaned again. His palms pressed against the mattress. His ankles strained at the cuffs. All only to confirm that there wasn't any escape to be had. "Please!"

"Aw. Fine, but only because you screamed _so_ nicely..." Melvin licked his lips again. "Ready?"

Bloody hell, the widest part of his hand still had to come back out, didn't it?

"One..."

Ryou's face scrunched with concentration. Relax. Relax, breathe, relax...

"Two..."

...breathe, relax, breathe- "Ah!"

"Three," Melvin said calmly as he wiped his hand on Marik's sheet. "That was fun. We should do more of that."

"No! We shouldn't!"

"But crumpet," Melvin whined and nuzzled Ryou's throat. "I want to open you up and play in your guts."

"You promised you wouldn't do anything that the Spirit would notice."

"But they're warm," Melvin purred against Ryou's jaw.

"No."

" _Yes._ And slick," he hissed.

"That's gross!"

"And pulsing," he moaned.

Ryou heard him suck air through his teeth and felt a damp sigh tickle his neck. "I- I said _no._ "

Melvin pushed himself up on his arms. "You don't trust me."

"I... ah... um..."

"No need for the flustered face." Melvin cocked his head. "If I found out that you trusted me too much, I'd have to do something to break that trust. Keep that little spark of fear alive. No one likes a dead bedroom."

And that was the dichotomy of this, wasn't it? The paradox. The conundrum. Their relationship had to exist in an asymptotic state of distrust. Ryou could never trust him unless he didn't. "You know I'll never trust you," Ryou whispered.

"I do." Melvin brushed noses with Ryou. "But it doesn't hurt to hear it out loud once in a while."

Ryou moaned when Melvin consumed his cock again. His over-strained muscles shuddered in their restraints. The clips on the cuffs rattled. Ryou took the time to relax. Willed himself slack. Focused on the blow job to empty his mind. Forced himself not the think about the one good thing hidden among three bad things and three worse things. It wouldn't do to worry now. Surely he had nothing but a long stream of worries coming up.

Again, Melvin didn't show him the next card. He bit his lip. Then he got up on his knees and pushed his boxers down around his thighs. At first he grabbed Ryou's hair as he leaned on the backs of Ryou's legs, forcing as much of his cock into Ryou's mouth as the angle would allow. He thrust his pelvis awkwardly at Ryou's face, knocking Ryou's skull against the head bored a few times. It didn't take him long to get impatient with the position, though. Ryou let out a relieved groan as Melvin finally unfastened his legs.

Gripping Ryou's ankles, he dragged Ryou back to the center of the mattress. He discarded his boxers as he changed positions to straddle Ryou face. Ryou accepted the engorged, dangling member into his mouth. Melvin rocked his hips, fucking Ryou's throat as he leaned forward to keep doing his own sucking. Ryou gagged on a moan. The sensation of Melvin's bellend punching him in the tonsils repeatedly was far from pleasant, but he vastly preferred it to fisting.

Speaking of Melvin's fist, it squeezed Ryou's balls as it tightened around the base of his cock. A long tongue folded around Ryou's shaft. Panting streams of hot breath washed over the sensitive flesh as Melvin licked him. Oh, goodness, as long as Melvin kept doing that, Ryou could take all the deepthroating.

Melvin left his cock in Ryou's throat as he twisted to reach for another card. Then he shifted back so that he was sitting on his heals with Ryou's head between his thighs. Ryou's lips and cheeks were glossy with spit and sweat. Melvin brushed a few strands of sticky hair off Ryou's face. "Close your eyes," Melvin said.

The violet eyes were wide and gleaming. Had he drawn something horrible, or was he simply high on lust from the throat fucking? But there was no point in doing anything but closing his eyes. Melvin leaned over him. Kissed him upside-down. Licked Ryou's tongue and bottom teeth. Maybe it was the last nice one. Then Melvin sat up and Ryou felt something else press past his lips. Something slippery and rubbery and...

Ryou gagged and tried to turn his face away. Knees tightened on the sides of Ryou's head as Melvin forced more of the double-ended dildo into Ryou's mouth. Ryou tried to push it out with his tongue, but that only made him gag again.

"Come on, crumpet," Melvin teased. " _Suck_ it _..._ "

"Mmphm!" Ryou protested as it glided over his tongue.

" _Swallow_ it..."

Ryou's stomach lurched as it touched the back of his throat.

"I want to see how much can we get down the other way."

Ryou dug in his heals and arched his back. His head slipped free of Melvin's pin and he immediately rolled to dry heave over the side of the bed. Melvin's hand latched across his forehead and pulled Ryou's head back onto his shoulder.

"Mm," Melvin growled against Ryou's throat. "My tiny, whiny, squeamish limey doesn't like that."

He rubbed the dildo sideways between Ryou's lips. Ryou clenched his teeth and turned his face away. All that did was cause Melvin to rub it on his cheek. "Stop! That's- It's not sanitary!"

"I didn't hear you complaining when I was tongue-fucking your back door. Selfish snowflake."

"I- I never _told_ you-"

Melvin shoved the head of the toy into Ryou's mouth again. Just enough to silence him. "Hold that thought. I just had the most _wonderful_ idea."

Ryou's eyes widened. Oh, no. Oh, dear, oh, no...

Melvin nuzzled Ryou cheek. "Though I suppose I should see what the cards say first. Fingers crossed for a nasty one."

Ryou watched Melvin draw. What could get him out of this? Probably only the last nice card in the deck. And probably only temporarily at that.

Melvin gasped with delight. Ryou closed his eyes and moaned unhappily. His own card. His own level seven card.

 


	5. Breathless

Melvin gripped Ryou's throat and pinned his back against the headboard. His fingers tightened on the sides of Ryou's neck. Ryou's pulse throbbed against the pressure. Melvin's free hand snatched up the tape. He used his teeth to pull the end loose, and then stuck it to Ryou's cheek, just bellow his eye. He pulled it across Ryou's nose. Wrapped it around and around Ryou's head until tape bandaged everything between his eyes and his mouth.

Suffocation. If Melvin had decided that suffocation was a seven, what did he have planned for eight? For Ra?

Melvin clamped a hand over Ryou's mouth and pushed. Pain flared as Ryou's head connected with the wood behind him. Ryou squirmed as pressure built in his lungs, trying not to panic. They'd... they'd done this before. Melvin always stopped. Eventually.

When the pain in his chest became nausea in his stomach, Ryou started struggling for real. Bucking against the weight in his lap. Melvin watched him with dilated pupils, breathing heavily, until Ryou's vision started to swim.

Ryou took an explosive breath. His head fell limp against the headboard as he waited for it to stop spinning.

"You really can't breathe. Wonderful." Melvin nuzzled the side of Ryou's face. "Now... I'm going to sit on your face..."

Ryou shuddered nervously, but he didn't bother protesting.

"And you're going to lick my southern pucker like your life depended on it."

Ryou's eyes widened. If it had been Marik, he might have laughed. Melvin... Melvin could be funny, but not when he was like this.

"If I don't think you're doing it right, I will suffocate you until you pass out, and then revive you, again and again and again until I'm satisfied with your performance." Melvin licked the side of Ryou's face, tape and all.

Ryou gulped. "I- I'm not even sure how..."

Melvin giggled. "I'll know if you're really trying." He grabbed the sides of Ryou's head and pressed their faces together. "Mm... You'll just have to trust me to be fair, won't you?" He laughed at the helpless horror on Ryou's face. "Gods, tiny Florence, you are simply the most _precious_ thing." He yanked at the slim hips to get Ryou on his back.

Melvin straddled Ryou's head, using all of his weight to grind his ass down on Ryou's face. With his mouth buried between Melvin's cheeks and his nose blocked up, Ryou really couldn't breath. The threat of suffocation wasn't idle. Ryou opened his mouth, grateful for Marik's fastidious hygiene as his tongue felt out the ring of muscle. He dragged his tongue across it repeatedly, with increasing desperation.

Melvin still waited until Ryou started struggling to lift his weight. "I can tell you're trying, so I'll give you that one, but you better get creative if you want another."

Too short of breath to protest, Ryou focused on trying to be creative instead. He traced the tip of his tongue up, down, left, right... drew Xs and circles... He may have even slipped into some variant of the Konami code as his tongue and chest both started to throb. Any idea, no matter how ridiculous, to try to keep Melvin content.

Once more, only when the pressure in Ryou's head reached an intolerable level, Melvin raised himself enough to allow Ryou a few sips of oxygen. Ryou caught the sound of a moan as he panted against Melvin's asshole. Sweat and spit smeared Ryou's lips and jaw as the young man on top of him pressed down again.

"Fuck, biscuit..." Melvin purred, stroking himself. "Get in there... get the fuck in there..."

Ryou's tongue rubbed and stroked and prodded until it burned with the effort. Melvin's foot jerked at his side, catching him sharply in the shoulder. A carefully held breath puffed past Ryou's lips before he could stop himself.

"Are you deaf down there? I said get the fuck _in_ there, snowflake!"

Oh... Oh, no... Ryou shuddered and whined. When Melvin ground down harder, Ryou tried to turn his face away, only to find his head clamped firmly between Melvin's calves. Ryou gripped the sheets and arched off the bed.

He needed air. He _needed_ it.

He didn't want to shove his tongue up Melvin's ass. He didn't _want_ to.

Melvin wasn't letting him up... he wasn't...

Ryou's body shuddered on its own, but he barely felt it. He felt numb. Light like he was floating and also sick like he was falling.

He didn't realize his eyes had closed until the cascade of cold across his torso shocked them open. They focused on Melvin, standing over him with the empty, upside-down cooler in his hands.

"You made me lose my place," Melvin said in his flat, calm voice. "Now we have to start over."

Ryou shivered as Melvin straddled him again. The ice that had settled along his arms and sides certainly took its sweet time melting.

"Let's take it from the top!" Melvin declared, eyes as wide as his grin. "You know what to do."

Ryou started with flat, broad strokes of his tongue again. The external licking wasn't really so bad. At this point, Melvin's skin just tasted like Ryou's spit. He still cringed when he poked at the center of the ring with the tip of his tongue. The dildo had been gag-worthy enough. But he had to do it. If only to get a break. He could feel his lungs running out of time again.

His tongue pushed hard. The amount of effort it took surprised him. While the Spirit had probably shagged or fingered Marik plenty of times, Ryou had the random realization that he'd never consciously stuck any part of himself inside another person's bum before. Melvin always topped. Always. There wasn't any suffering to be had in letting Ryou top...

The harder Ryou worked with his mouth, the more Melvin seemed to forget about suffocating him. He gasped and growled as he alternated between thrusting into his own hand and squirming on Ryou's tongue.

"Yes, crumpet," Melvin rasped as he arched his spine. "You whine like a posh bitch, but when the cards go down you are one dirty little limey."

"Eh!" It was the only indignant sound Ryou could manage without stopping.

Melvin cackled breathlessly.

"Uh!" Ryou's hips bucked involuntarily when Melvin gave his willie a tug. The loony wanker wasn't wrong, really. Once he drew that last level one monster, once he was done being mean, he'd have Ryou writhing and begging for more.

In a weird way, Ryou liked him when he wasn't being mean. And... and even a little bit when he was... because he was so confident in his own presence that he could say ridiculous things like 'southern pucker' with a straight face. That confidence was fascinating. A lot of things about Melvin were fascinating...

"Yehehes," Melvin half groaned, half laughed. He sat on Ryou's chest, grabbed both sides of Ryou's head, and shoved his cock into Ryou's throat. He held it there until Ryou's eyes started to roll back in his red face. Then he let Ryou's head fall back on the pillow. The thin chest heaved under him.

Ryou clenched his fists when Melvin filled his throat again. He hated breath play. Begging Melvin to stop worked more often than it didn't, but he couldn't beg when he couldn't breathe.

Melvin giggled as he allowed Ryou to exhale again. "It's like a cork in a bottle." His finger traced a vague outline of Ryou's esophagus and lungs on the pale throat and torso. He stared at the body under him in an intense, distant way, like he was opening Ryou's chest with his eyes. "Two bottles joined at the neck." His hand wrapped around Ryou neck and pulled him into a sitting position.

Melvin rose up on his knees and thrust past Ryou's lips. Ryou alternated between sucking and catching little breaths every time Melvin pulled out. It wasn't easy. Melvin was going at his finishing pace. The pauses where Ryou's mouth was clear were short and far between.

"Fuck, biscuit," Melvin panted. "Gods, fuck... Aha!"

Ryou clamped his eyes shut. Melvin had jizzed in his eyes before, and it was _not_ fun. But the hot, salty goo hit the back of his throat and slid down easily.

Ryou went limp when Melvin released him. His head throbbed in racing counterpoint to his slow, deep breaths. One... two... four cards left? Bloody hell...

 


	6. Happy Accidents

"Mm." Melvin settled his face into the V of Ryou's ribs and heaved one of his deep, slow sighs.

When Ryou's own head finally cleared, he blinked at the mass of blond hair splayed across his chest. He wrinkled his nose under the tape. It was starting to itch, he realized, and his hands were still fastened securely behind him. He squirmed under Melvin's limp weight, unable to decide which of his strange mix of emotions to act on first. Was Melvin seriously going to stop so close to the end of the game? Was he more annoyed that Melvin might not bother to finish him, or more relieved that Melvin hadn't gotten to Ra? Ryou twisted his wrists in the scarf. He decided he had to disturb Melvin no matter what, because he didn't want to be tied up until Marik woke up on top of him. "Ahem!"

Melvin lifted his head up enough to peer at Ryou through his bangs.

"Weren't we in the middle of something?" Ryou asked.

Melvin cocked his head. "We?" His eyelids drooped. "Oh. Were _you_ in the middle of something?"

" _We,_ " Ryou insisted. "We were in the middle of... are you seriously finished?"

"Yes."

Curses and bollocks. Really? Melvin was going to put him through all that buggery and teasing and not even finish him off? "You- you said you'd always let me have my fun..."

Melvin sat up and braced both hands on Ryou's chest. "Is that your disappointed face?"

Ryou closed his eyes and huffed. He shouldn't tempt Melvin to start the game again. He shouldn't. But that one good card... Arg! Blimming bastard...

"Hm. I didn't know you liked choking on my dick so much." Melvin's palms slid to Ryou's nipples.

"Well... No! I mean-"

Violet eyes widened slightly. "Are you learning to like the little discomforts?"

Ryou tried to speak again, only to cry out as Melvin tweaked both of his pink buds.

"I'm not sure what to think of that."

"That's..." Ryou arched into the hands fondling his chest. He couldn't help it. "Not my... point..."

"Maybe you're only whining for my benefit." Melvin put on the static grin that didn't reach his eyes. "You're so considerate, snowflake."

"I don't _want_ to gag on your bloody cock, Melvin!" In addition to the pawing and the rubbing, the loony wanker had begun rocking his body in a way that caused his testicles to brush Ryou's cock, and it was bloody maddening.

"Mm. That's an image. Who's blood would it be?"

Ryou lifted his hips, trying to get more pressure and friction from Melvin's frustratingly hovering pelvis. "You said I could cum when you were done with me..." He let it come out as a whine. Why not? Melvin loved the whining...

"What makes you think I'm done with you?"

"You said-" Ryou groaned. "Do you tease me on purpose?"

"Only when you're not talking nonsense." Melvin drew another card and glanced impassively at it. His eyes darted over Ryou's body. Then wandered toward the bathroom. Then flicked to Marik's mirror collage. They finally settled on Marik's Lady Gaga poster. Melvin stood up and plucked a thumb tack from the bottom corner.

Ryou squirmed nervously. He hoped the card had been a three. He didn't want to think about how Melvin might make a thumb tack an eight or worse. There wasn't much stopping his mind from wandering, though.

He thought of Asami and her impossibly long needles.

He thought of Melvin sitting on top of him, smiling pleasantly as he unwound a length of razor wire.

He thought of how good Melvin's muscular shoulders would look with nothing but a black butcher's apron and some long rubber gloves.

Ryou clenched his jaw and shook his head. He did like being fake afraid. Melvin had blurred the line between fake afraid and real afraid so thoroughly that it was hard to tell the difference sometimes.

Melvin scratched the tack across Ryou's chest. Ryou gasped. Melvin smiled softly as he scratched white lines on Ryou's pale skin. Some concise and sharp. Some sweeping and almost ticklish. The tack finally stopped at Ryou's nipple. It pressed. Harder. Harder. Until Ryou yelped and twitched away. Melvin chuckled and scratched his way bit by bit down Ryou's torso. Ryou's eyes widened as the sharp bit of metal teased around the base of his cock, but Melvin must've decided that poking him in the jibblies was more than a three, because the tack continued to his leg without incident.

Grabbing Ryou's knee, Melvin poked and scratched his way down the soft inside of Ryou's thigh. Ryou groaned, flinching at each unexpected jab. Finally, Melvin caught and lifted Ryou's ankle, rubbing his cheek against Ryou's arch.

"It's a shame about the no marks rule," Melvin mused. His thumb rubbed circles on the ball of Ryou's foot. "I wouldn't even need something as dramatic a blow torch. A lighter would do the trick."

Ryou cringed for more than one reason as the thumb tack traced the lines on the bottom of his foot.

"I do like the sounds they make though. Kshh..." Melvin breathed the sound on Ryou's ankle as though he could blow fire himself. "You'd _have_ to crawl for me, then, wouldn't you, snowflake?" He giggled.

Ryou shivered. As long as he didn't act on his fantasies, it was only mildly unsettling. He concentrated on resisting the urge to kick free of the vice grip Melvin had on his ankle. The poking and scratching tickled, itched, and stung all at the same time. Ryou groaned and squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't open them until he felt Melvin stop.

His sigh of relief turned into a gasp as he watched Melvin's hand flash down. Then a startled cry as the tack punctured his skin. Ryou tugged reflexively against Melvin's grip, but Melvin grabbed him with both hands. A thumb ground the tack in hard. "Melvin! You can't- We were just talking about this!" More frustration than pain.

"There you go, talking _nonsense_ again." Melvin left the tack lodged in the bottom of Ryou's foot. His thumb nail scratched along Ryou's arch.

"Take it out!"

"What? This?" Melvin's thumb manipulated the plastic head like a game stick, moving it in the tiniest of circles. Ryou winced. "But it's such a happy little accident." His thumb pushed up hard, earning him a whimper.

Accident? Ryou eyed Melvin uncertainly. Melvin had stabbed him on purpose. He must have. So what was he getting at?

"You shouldn't leave things like this lying around on the floor." Melvin started to pull out the pin, and then shoved it in again.

A loop hole. The bastard. The clever, awful, loony _bastard_. "I'm not-" He winced as Melvin continued twisting and pushing the pin. "P-particularly accident p-prone... you know..." What accidents might he even have in his low-key life? Nicking his finger while carving figures?

"Are you sure?" Melvin pouted. "You've never walked into a door frame?"

Ryou shook his head. "Please don't start this."

"Tripped over the coffee table?"

"I'm begging you!"

"Dropped something on your foot?"

"Melvin! We had a deal! Please!"

Melvin straddled Ryou's waist and cupped his face with both hands. "Have I told you how cute you are when you get all worked up?"

"Please tell me you're only teasing," Ryou begged.

"But I'm not." Melvin brushed Ryou's bangs off his forehead. "You _are_ adorable. Why would I ever say otherwise?" He traced a finger across the tape covering Ryou's nose. "Here." He stood and yanked Ryou to his feet.

Ryou stumbled, trying not to put any weight on the tack in his foot. "Melvin," he whimpered.

Tan lips brushed pale ones. Melvin started to turn toward and door, and then snapped his fingers. "Oh. Right." He picked up a card. "Mm. Appropriate." Melvin balanced the card on top of Ryou's head. "If you drop that, I'll assume you tried to sit down. You won't like it if I assume you tried to sit down."

Moving only his eyes, Ryou watched Melvin leave the room. He swallowed, deliberate and careful. Melvin did like keeping him on his toes. Figuratively and literally. If Melvin was planning on altering their agreement, what could Ryou really do about it?

For the love of high tea, why did _Melvin_ get to be so clever when Marik was such a ditz?

And why was something that should've been so horrifying also so alluring?

At least 'happy accidents' didn't necessarily mean that Melvin could rough him up indiscriminately. Anything more than an occasional bruise or scrape would still be inexplicable. Melvin simply wanted to keep him frightened and guessing, so the threat of balancing the card on his head actually had some weight. Yes, that was it. He hoped.

 


	7. Ra Lust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, this chapter was really hard to get into words for some reason.

Ryou eyed the remaining cards sideways. Three left. The two worst, and one of the best. What was on his head? It had to be one of the bad ones, or he wouldn't be tied up with most of his weight balanced on one foot. Bugger... Besides the wand and the knife, what other thing could be worse than suffocation?

A happy accident?

A Winged Dragon of Ra sized happy accident?

Ryou suppressed a shudder. He couldn't drop the card. He could _not_ drop the card.

Melvin returned carrying a familiar case. The wand. Ryou pressed his lips together as Melvin walked past him. He heard Melvin set the case on the bed and open it. He listened, trying to guess what node Melvin was choosing. When he heard the sound of tape, his pulse quickened. It had to be the knife, then. If Melvin was taking so long to get ready and needed tape, it had to be the knife.

The loony wanker was still mostly naked. He'd put on a belt so he'd have a place to clip the violet wand's handle, and he had the contact node taped to his abdoment again, but he was naked besides that. A flash of silver in his hand sent a chill down Ryou's spine, until Ryou realized it was not the knife with the metal handle that conducted electricity so well. It was a pair of scissors.

Melvin slid the scissors under the tape. They were cold on Ryou's ear, the softly grating _shink_ magnified as they bit through the tape. The tape caught in Ryou's bangs as Melvin peeled it across his face. Ryou gasped as a few strands pulled loose.

Melvin paused, watching Ryou with half-lidded eyes. His tongue poked between his teeth as Ryou realized what was about to happen. "Oh, geeze, please just make it quick..."

Melvin snickered. "I won't make any promises. Ready?"

"No," Ryou groaned, but he braced himself anyway.

"One... two... two and a half... Two and three quarters..."

"Melvin," Ryou whined without opening his eyes.

"Two and ninty-nine hund-"

Ryou scowled at him. "Get on wi- Ah!" In addition to ripping out some of his hair, the hard yank on the back of his head knocked him off balance. He instinctually stumbled to catch himself and wound up jamming his full weight onto the tack. Panicking at the shot of pain, he tried to correct his balance the other way and fell to his knees instead.

Melvin stood over him. The flap of duct tape hung from his fist, trailing dozens of the soft white hairs that had once been attached to Ryou's scalp. Ryou squirmed, wishing he could rub the back of his tingling head.

A warm hand cupped Ryou's cheek as tan fingers threaded into his hair. Ryou leaned into Melvin's touch, hoping that for just a moment he was going to be nice. And for that moment, he was, maybe. At the very least, the fingers kneading his scalp felt good enough that Ryou wasn't going to ruin it by questioning him.

"I might fuck your throat again, when the game's over." Melvin tilted his head. "Just for fun." His hand moved to the top of Ryou's head, tousling the white hair like a dog.

Ryou watched Melvin go back to the case. He couldn't see exactly what he was doing, but it looked like he might have been slipping something onto his fingers. Ryou glanced at the floor around him until he found the card that had fallen off his head. It was Masked Beast des Guardius. He bit his lip as his eyes returned to Melvin's hand. Each finger wore a metal claw. He hadn't thought Ra would be worse than the simulated cutting, but he was seriously beginning to sweat now.

Melvin drew the metal-tipped pointer finger along Ryou's jaw. It tightened as Ryou's chin flinched away. Purring, Melvin grabbed Ryou's neck with his bare hand and pulled him to his feet. The Brit swayed, finding his balance on one foot again. Melvin held up his other hand, clicking and scrapping the metal nails together so that sparks danced between them. Ryou's pulse quickened under Melvin's thumb.

Melvin moved behind Ryou. Ryou hunched his shoulders. Shivering. Waiting. A sting like claws tearing up the back of his thigh forced a yelp out of his throat. He wobbled, barely remembering not to step on the tack. Then Melvin was beside him, dragging snapping needles of electricity across his chest. The tip of a claw flicked and circled Ryou's nipple. He squeezed his eyes shut, holding his ground as the same claw circled around the top of his pec, and then followed a line to his belly button.

There was a pause as it drew away. A space just long enough for Ryou to let out a breath and pull in a new one.

Then another flair as four claws dragged across his stomach. Ryou hobble-hopped back a step as he doubled over. Sudden, sharp, and hard, a hand at the top of his head, with a fistful of hair, jerked him up on his toes and held him until his eyes watered.

"Do you need help standing?"

The question and tone were both neutral enough. When Ryou opened an eye to look, however, the tension around Melvin's wide, unblinking eyes gave him a chill. He couldn't guess what the loony wanker was thinking, but it would not be helpful or pleasant. "No," he wimpered with a slight shake of his head.

Melvin's chin tilted down. His eyes glinted in the shadow of Marik's bangs as he leaned closer. "Are you sure?" He whispered.

"Yes..."

The tension on Ryou's scalp eased abruptly. There was no time for relief, though. Sparking claws traced his ribs as Melvin circled behind him. Ryou slouched forward, panting.

"I could sling a rope around your pretty neck." A claw traveled across Ryou's throat, from ear lobe to ear lobe. "Hang it over the door, tie it to the handle." The clawed hand spidered along his collar bone, trailing sparks. "Or maybe I could wrap it under the door and tie it to your ankles."

Ryou gulped. "You'd bruise my neck."

Melvin grinned against his ear. "I'd kidnap you until the bruise healed."

"I'd have to explain..."

"It worked last time."

If the birthday story hadn't happened to pick at one of Marik's specific traumas, there might have been a lot more questions. Besides, lying to Marik felt terrible. It was too easy to be fair. "Please just don't..."

Melvin clasped his hands to his chest, affecting a bad British accent. "Oh, golly gee, crumpets and tea, Melvin, please."

Ryou pouted at him.

Melvin laughed and flicked at the protruding lip with a metal talon. Ryou squeaked and jerked his face away. Taking advantage of the exposed neck, Melvin nuzzled the throbbing pulse. "I _am_ going to hang you from the door one of these days," he rasped, "because playing with your cute little body is _murderous_ levels of fun, and I want to see if it would work, but we've already done strangulation today, and I'd hate to take a step _down_ when I'm feeling so _up._ "

Ryou's gasp of want turned into a gasp of pain as Melvin clawed at him again. He moaned Melvin's name, but even he didn't know if it was a good moan or a bad moan.

Melvin laughed. "Would you look at that!" He stroked Ryou's cock between two fingers. "I'm being almost as mean as I'm allowed to be, and you're _still_ getting hard."

The touch tingled, but the flat sides of claws didn't hurt like the tips.

"How much pain can you take, I wonder, and still keep this up for me?"

Ryou panted. He was going to draw another card. He was going to... The tips of the claws drew up his shaft as Melvin stepped back toward the end table. Ryou whined.

Melvin picked up both of the cards and stared at them. "That's an interesting split, isn't it? The best and the worst. The meanest and the nicest. Although..." He fanned the cards as he smirked at Ryou. "From a certain perspective, one could say I've been pretty nice right along. Following the _rules_ and all... making sure you get to have _fun_ too..."

Ryou gulped.

Melvin closed his eyes and nodded once. "Yes. I wonder." He put both of the cards face up on the nightstand. Then he grabbed Ryou's jaw with his bare hand, tracing Ryou's mouth with a thumb as he spoke. "If you can endure Ra's wrath with a stiff," his eyes flicked down briefly, "upper lip, I'll let you have your last nice thing. I think that's fair."

"But-"

Melvin moved closer, leaving them separated by mere molecules of air. "It shouldn't be a problem if you want me enough," he whispered.

Ryou rocked forward. Melvin rocked back. Ryou groaned in frustration. Melvin chuckled and retrieved the scissors. Ryou hadn't realized how numb his hands had gotten until Melvin grabbed them and cut the scarf away. Tingles swarmed Ryou's arms as the fabric loosened. His shoulders cracked as he brought his arms around to rub them. Red bands marked the places the scarf had dug into his skin. Melvin grabbed the nape of Ryou's neck and made him crawl up on the edge of the bed. He pushed Ryou's face down and his legs wide apart.

"Please tell me what you're going to do," Ryou whimpered.

"I want to hear you guess."

Ryou's fingers clenched in the sheets. "I don't know... I thought... I thought the eight was going to be the ten..."

Melvin laughed. "Really? You thought _that_ was the most painful thing I could do without leaving marks?"

He could hear Melvin moving around the room, but he didn't dare look. He knew without being told that he wasn't supposed to. The consequences of looking when Melvin didn't want him to involved onions and, he'd learned, sucked a lot more than he'd imagined it could. "I don't know..." he repeated.

"I'll give you a hint."

Ryou's stomach plummeted when Melvin seized him by the testicles. A thousand realizations and speculations and fears crowded his thoughts in an instant. "No!"

"I don't know why you're always using that word like it will help you. You know it just excites me."

It had been a while since he'd been scared enough to actually try to escape. If Melvin hadn't literally had him by the balls, he might have tried this time. There was nothing he could _say._ He knew that. He hugged Marik's sheets to his face. The fearful anticipation alone made him want to cry.

"If you start at tears before I even do anything, you won't have anywhere to go." His grip tightened a fraction. "Or maybe there is something beyond tears. I guess we'll find out together."

"This is mad, Melvin, this is absolutely _mad_..." Ryou whimpered. Again, like pointing that out would stop him. Oh, god... Oh _god_...

Melvin flicked him. Ryou yelped, lurched forward, and yelped again when Melvin squeezed harder to maintain his hold. When Melvin tugged him back, Ryou complied without resistance. Resistance would only lead to more pain.

"Did you think you were going somewhere?"

"No..." Ryou sniffled. "I- it was i- instinct... I'm-"

Another flick. Another yelp. Ryou's thighs squeezed Melvin's fist. He couldn't close them enough to protect himself, but his body forced him to try. No matter how many times Melvin flicked him. No matter how many times his reflexive struggles only caused the straining pull on his testicles to intensify. His animal brain wanted to escape, but he knew he was at Melvin's mercy. Melvin had no mercy. The sheet stuck to his wet face. Tears of pain. Tears of fear. The distinction didn't matter.

"You really do turn the most interesting colors, snowflake."

Ryou sobbed. He usually got something out of submitting to Melvin. The idea that he might not this time only added frustration to everything else. Melvin was going to tease him, torment him, and leave him to try to fall asleep alone and scared and embarrassed that until a couple minutes ago he'd sort of _wanted_ to play this game. _Wanted_ Melvin to pin him in a sleeper hold and shag him with all of his raw, unfeeling lust. But his cock was a creature of immediate concerns and it was hard to want sex when all he wanted was escape from the pain.

Wanted...

Escape...

Oh, no... What if Melvin thought Ryou's lack of physical interest meant Ryou didn't want him anymore? What if he got angry again?

Melvin stopped. "Those tears sound different."

"I'm sorry..." Ryou whimpered. To his surprise, Melvin finally let go of him. His heart pounded. Was it a good pause or a bad pause? When Melvin flipped him onto his back and mounted him, Ryou's tear-blurred eyes frantically searched his face for a clue.

"I said, those tears sound different."

"I- I mean, please don't be mad. I'm sorry..."

"I thought I was always mad."

Was Melvin teasing his word choice on purpose? "I want you, I promise I do, but I couldn't-" His breath hitched as his eyes flicked down. "Please don't be angry."

Melvin's head tilted. "Why would I be angry?"

"I don't know," Ryou sobbed, closing his eyes.

Melvin's head lolled the other way. "Those are disappointed tears. Interesting." He leaned closer. "You wanted something from me." A slow grin split his apathetic face. "What were you hoping for, crumpet? Hugs?"

Ryou's chest lurched as his eyes dropped to Melvin's mouth. The agile tongue traced an arc between the dangerous teeth, wetting Melvin's lower lip. Ryou shivered.

"Kisses?"

Melvin's knee slipped between Ryou's thighs. The shivers turned to trembles. Good. He wanted it to be good, but... Melvin shoved his knee up against Ryou's crotch, pressing gradually harder as whimpers rose to cries in Ryou's throat. Ryou squirmed, arching his hips as he tried to wriggle free. When the tack in his sole reminded him of its presence, he cried out again. His brain felt swimmy and confused. Nausea knotted his gut.

Melvin's palm struck the mattress next to Ryou's head. "Talk to me, snowflake!"

There was a question. What was the question? What was the answer? "Kiss... I want..." His head throbbed. He just wanted Melvin to give him his nice thing. Just... "Nice..." His breath hitched. "Kisses..."

"Nice kisses!" Melvin cackled. "So delirium is the thing beyond tears. Mm..." His knee moved to make room for his hand. His fingers cradled Ryou's balls while his thumb rubbed hard circles on one. "I wonder if cumming would even feel good at this point."

Ryou whimpered. Melvin sat on Ryou's legs and used his other hand to coax Ryou's member back to attention. Pale fingers fisted in Marik's sheets. Melvin was only jerking him off to see if it would hurt. His tears weren't entirely motivated by the twinges that each press of Melvin's digits sent shooting up his hip and through his stomach, now. "Closer..." he sobbed, reaching for Melvin's shoulders. He wanted his buggering nice thing, and didn't even really care if the torture didn't stop, because the nice things felt so good when immediately contrasted with the mean things and Melvin was the only one who could give him that surge of pleasure with the perfectly timed shot of pain...

Wrapping his arms around Melvin's ribs, Ryou buried his face in Melvin's chest. He moaned between cries. He sighed between wails. He bucked into the hand toying with his cock and flinched away from the hand tormenting his bollocks. His head fell back as he arched against Melvin's bare chest. Melvin's fist clenched, wringing a last, ear piercing cry from Ryou's body as cum splattered Melvin's stomach.

Hiccuping breaths shook Ryou's shoulders as he rolled onto his side and curled around his stomach. He pressed one hand to his face. "I- don't- feel- good..."

The mattress shook as Melvin plopped next to him. Ryou's stomach and head protested the sudden jostling. Melvin nudged Ryou's hand away from his face. The edge of the last one star monster traced the hollow of Ryou's cheek to his mouth. The top rested against Ryou's lip as Melvin regarded them both.

"I need a new target," Melvin finally said.

Ryou didn't bother pushing the card away. "Tonight?"

"Mm."

Ryou groaned and buried his face in the crook of his elbow. "I'll do it before I go to bed."

Melvin scooted closer. Ryou peeked curiously through his hair. As soon as he exposed his mouth, Melvin's lips were against it. Soft. Closed. Lingering just a bit before pulling away.

"Bloody hell... Fine, give me ten minutes. Manipulative wanker..."

Melvin giggled, kissed him again, and then stood up to collect the cards. Ryou took a deep, slow breath, and then eased himself upright. As he crossed his leg to remove the tack, he paused. His eyes flicked to the naked man moving around the room. Happy accidents...

But he was teasing, right? After all, he'd let Ryou have his last good card at the end, even though he'd said he wouldn't. Ryou could have done with more of the gentle kisses, but was it really fair to expect that from Melvin?

No. Melvin was doing the best he could. At least Ryou could appreciate that...

He yanked the pin out of his flesh, but it took a few moments and a few deep breaths before he could stand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, I finished it! Yes! I have so many ideas I've been wanting to get to and they've all been bottle necked at this story. I have, like, three other scenarios involving my favorite Movie Night couple that I've been dying to get to, and I finally thought of a follow-up story for Pulling Trains. It's going to be interesting trying to write a six-way situation... And I think I somewhere along the line the Psychotic Conspiracy universe even developed a plot in my head... I don't know where to start... Anyway, thanks for going on this journey with me!


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